What Makes A Sick Team Sick?

Ethical Empathizer voices are drowned out when they are working with a sick team. A sick team doesn’t consistently use healthy communication tools. When people communicate better, profitability results, and we all get along far better and have a little fun at work while we’re at it.

What Makes a Sick Team Sick TALK2ME Communication Roadmap…

1. A sick team is very isolated. Each individual is an island – there is no team.

2. A sick team is very distracted. Team members are going in 25 different directions at once, doing 25 different things instead of focusing on the singular goal ahead.

3. A sick team does not encourage cross training and fertilization.

4. A sick team doesn’t expend resources on providing backup help or investing in its people.

5. A sick team frowns on social interactions.

6. A sick team plays teenager-like games of gossiping.

7. A sick team doesn’t hear the truth from upper management, who tend to bend the rules to benefit themselves.

8. A sick team doesn’t learn and grow, so its best people go elsewhere where they can be part of a real team.

Are you a communication saint? Oh, yes, ethical one, you are. However, you need a positive work environment or you will feel used, confused, and used up. Is that conducive to productivity?

THE TALK2ME© COMMUNICATION SYSTEM—DAYTON, OH. A simple and innovative roadmap for better communication that builds a positive climate of trust and respect…because better communication flows with profitability…and better communication is about walking our talk as leaders. “Talk Doc” Dennis O’Grady customizes business programs for customer-centered communication. Better communication equals proven profitability. Every employee — executive or rank and file —  uses tools and strategies from their Communication Toolbox as they meet around the Communicator Table or as they are driving down the Communicator Highway. Dr. O’Grady also provides individual and couple communication coaching at 937-428-0724. Which type of communicator are you? http://www.drogrady.com/type.php

I Didn’t Know My Family Was That Afraid Of Me

Mood spelled backwards spells doom…and for good reason. If you’re a Power Talker, your mood will infect the minds of others with severe consequences. Are you moody, as in, “Well, yeah I guess I get a little upset.” Do you blow up or have meltdowns on a weekly basis and then blame it on something or someone other than yourself? Don’t know for certain? Just ask a family member or colleague at work, if they’re not too scared to tell you the truth. And then listen up!

THE WHOLE FAMILY TEAM IS AFFECTED

You must own up to your positive power. You are a Mood-Maker Inventor. Yelling or barking out orders strips your relationship bank account of trust and goodwill. How Steve, a communication client, put it…

Until using TALK2Me, I didn’t realize your mood sticks to others. I think that’s a bad thing. If I’m in a bad mood, then that’s going to put people who reflect my moods in a bad mood, then that’s going to create a bad environment all around us.

You create the good mood vs. bad mood climate around you. Believe it! To be productive, you have to be in a good mood. For others to cooperate with you, they have to see you in a good mood. Laughter goes a long ways to reducing stress.

ARE YOU HAVING A BAD DAY?

Another client, Mitch, came to communication coaching with me to learn how to mend family bridges of communication which had been burned by his moody outbursts.

I’ve never really focused on my bad moods…how much I affect others’ emotions and moods with my mood. Until we’ve talked, Dennis, I never really thought how I’ve affected people in that way. If somebody likes me fine, if they don’t like me who cares? My kids seldom talk to me, and my wife says she has quit trying to talk, too. Until we came here, I didn’t know my family was that afraid of me and my anger outbursts. We’re definitely moving in the right direction, but I still feel too much anger inside, too much of the time.

YOU MUST OWN UP TO YOUR POSITIVE POWER

You can be a happy-go-lucky person at work and a moody mess at home. That’s called a split personality! Negative Instigator communicators who are MOODY at work or home come across like this…

•    Irritable
•    Lead by anger and fear
•    Boastful, pushy, cocky, over-confident
•    Condescending
•    “My way or the highway….”
•    Intolerant, poor listeners
•    Doesn’t take criticism well
•    Head strong, no personal connection
•    Lacks respect for others’ ideas
•    Not a team player

YOU MAKE YOUR MOOD

We have more control over our moods than we previously thought possible. You can cater to a bad mood and feed it all sorts of junk, or you can strive to soothe yourself when you’re feeling bad. Here’s what a positive mood consists of, in the Empathizer world…

•    Understanding
•    Lead by positive “we can do” attitude; inspiring
•    Compassionate and passionate
•    Good listener; affable
•    Effectively communicate your ideas back to you
•    Approach-able; caring
•    Respectful and trustworthy
•    Easy to deal with
•    Maintains self-control under pressure
•    Open to constructive criticism
•    Team player

You create the climate. Are you creating a happy environment, one filled to the brim with productivity and goal achievement, and one which is useful for all who sit around your Communicator Table? One that’s a stress-free comfort zone where you don’t mind being? I know so….

MAKE MY MOOD

Some tips to work with your mood so it doesn’t work against others and yourself:

1. Notice your mood. Keep a journal.  Watch how people are watching you, or if they walk on eggshells around you.

2. Count the costs of your bad mood so you’ll be motivated to change. Your bad mood will reduce productivity by at least 40% and it will restrict relationship development.

3. Write a Mood-Maker Visionary statement. Write down what kind of positive climate you wish to create at home or on your work team…same thing.

4. Find a personal communications coach who will talk straight to you, and make sure to relay your family members’ observations while you’re there.

5. Admit how much your mood impacts the moods of others. People around you believe that you are a Highly Influential Communicator. You feel that your fear and anger aren’t very good leadership partners.

How much do you affect others’ moods? To be productive, you must be in a good mood. A good mood is necessary for goal achievement, personal and company growth, teambuilding, and relationship development. If all that’s true, are you willing to pay the steep price of a bad mood day?

ARE YOU DRIVING WITH A MOOD BLIND SPOT?

Respectful, accurate feedback corrects the “blind spot” that occurs while driving under the influence of a bad mood. In fact, a bad mood is akin to having a huge blind spot in your rear view mirror as you drive down I-75 in rush hour traffic – you look ahead, behind you and where you plan to go, then proceed to change lanes quickly, only to discover that a metal beast is right there where you intended to go! Off you slide into an expensive ditch with other drivers and your fellow passengers probably thinking you’re a bad driver, but they’re too afraid to tell you because they’re apprehensive of road rage…or a bad mood explosion.

DISCOVER YOUR INNER STRENGTH!

THE TALK2ME© COMMUNICATION SYSTEM—DAYTON, OH. The result of effective communication? Proven Profitability! “Talk Doc” Dennis O’Grady customizes business programs for customer-centered communication. Past programs designed and developed for major corporate clients have resulted in supervisors, managers and executives elevating their communication strengths. Learning how to push leadership down the ranks through positive and effective communication awareness and education is the way that leaders lead by example. Let Dr. O’Grady empower your leaders with his innovative roadmap of communicator types (which one are you?) to build a climate of trust and respect in your organization. Give your employees every chance to succeed–their success becomes the future for your company.

The Roadmap To Positive Leadership

POSITIVE LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES ON THE TALK2ME COMMUNICATION ROADMAP

Do you have a roadmap to positive leadership that works 90% of the time? Can you pull from all these inner strengths when the occasion calls for it or when the situation warrants?

•    Careful—won’t keep making the same dumb mistake
•    Not blindly going along, but will implement
•    Sensitive—it really matters to the person
•    Respected and respectful—a feeling of wanting to do it for you, because of feeling valued
•    Empathy—one-on-one relationships
•    Open to other ideas
•    Building trust by caring
•    Showing regard and being sensitive equals a feeling of worth. Increases productivity and teamwork.
•    Will adapt and change course as needed
•    Know what has to be done
•    Forge ahead—takes uncertainty out of decisions
•    Doesn’t let emotions get in the way of making hard decisions
•    The real deal has meaning and purpose and leads as others follow
•    Decisions based on sense
•    Step towards the problem
•    Follow the plan to a ‘T’
•    Results as measurements
•    Secure in decisions

ABOUT THE TALK2ME COMMUNICATION ROADMAP

A balanced and effective leader uses the inner strengths of both Empathizer and Instigator communication styles depending on the situation. You will get blisters trying to shove your feet into the wrong pair of communicator shoes. Find out your communicator type, and receive a free report, by clicking on http://www.drogrady.com/type.php

DR. DENNIS O’GRADY, PSY.D.

Dr. Dennis O’Grady is a Communication Expert and Developer of The Talk2Me leadership communication system. You can talk with Dennis at (937) 428-0724.

Have The First Action Instead Of The Last Word

DO YOU PUT BRAKES ON YOUR MOUTH?

Are you reactive by striving hard to have the last word? Or are you responsive by driving safely to have the first positive action on the two-way communicator highway?

HOW DO I TAP ON MY BRAKES WHEN I’M MOVING TOO FAST?

DO TALK, OF COURSE:

• Do tap on your brakes to slow down, when your emotions are running hot.

• Do release yourself from the prison of perfectionism.

• Do listen more than you pontificate or lecture.

• Do hear negative feedback that resolves those pesky problems which haunt you.

• Do escort the elephant in the room to outside your front door.

• Do respond authentically to others instead of using “knee-jerk-me-jerk” reactions.

• Do pull out the tree from your own eye before you point out the toothpick in the other guy’s eye.

• Do nurture yourself and reach out to others to “depressurize” when you’re stressed out.

• Do use your character values (honesty, integrity, respect) as your compass when speeding along, lost in a fog of emotion.

• Do take the cotton out of your ears, especially if you are prone to trying too hard to be right, just to save face.

• Do make every effort to change and grow on a daily basis.

• Do have the first action, instead of having the last word.

• Do be a validator, instead of a villain.

• Do remember that God gave us one mouth and two ears for a very good reason!

• Do follow good communication driving rules, especially when you don’t want to.

Travel on the two-way Communicator Highway can be, and often is, hazardous to your health. If you use the Talk Tools from your Communicator Toolbox, you will be able to circumvent those fender-benders just ahead, and you’ll know when to take a detour or a completely new route, as you head toward your destination.

Dennis O’Grady, Psy.D., is a Communication Expert and Developer of Talk2Me positive and effective communication system. His communication classes are described as “humbling, surprising, eye-opening, enlightening, valuable, intense, informative, very educational, very beneficial.” He is available to talk at (937) 428-0724.

Drilling Down To The Depths Of Clear Communication

In the communication well, how do you drill down to the depths of good communication? TALK2ME Class 16 committed to acquiring the strengths of their opposite communicator types. Empathizer leaders decided to become assertively fearless, while the Instigator leaders decided to become fearless listeners. What strength will complement your communication toolbox?

THE EMPATHIZER SIDE OF TALK STREET

•    Use compassion and be sensitive.
•    Be more direct.
•    Lack of fear.  I don’t want to be afraid of failure. I want to be successful.
•    Be a little more assertive. Be a little more driven.
•    Commitment. Make a commitment.
•    Be more empowering to my guys instead of being on the same friend level.
•    Go-to guy. Be the person to rely on to promote quality and     success in the work environment.
•    Empowering. Be a charismatic leader and a clutch performer. Be a manager who delivers under pressure, time, and need.

THE INSTIGATOR SIDE OF TALK STREET

•    Be a listener. When you listen you earn. Be less competitive. Less is more sometimes.
•    Be able to step outside the situation and walk in the other person’s shoes. Have more consideration and compassion about what’s going on with him.
•    I would have to say more approachable. Be able to get the employees to understand that if they have problems and gripes, they can come and talk to me. Not be afraid to talk to me.
•    Be a better listener.
•    I would have to say be a better listener.

COMMUNICATOR MOTIVATOR

What is your motivation and communication purpose? Is the intent of your straight talk to help, to heal, or to harm? You are a communicator motivator! Communication matters all the way out and all the way back. Who’s in the driver’s seat of your life?

ONE TEAM

Are you one team? Do you apply customer-centered communication tools? Dennis O’Grady is a Communication Expert and the Developer of The TALK2ME Communication System. Dennis is a professional speaker and communication educator, who can be reached at (937) 428-0724.